MSNBC is running a series of articles this week (part 1 and part 2 are up already) on the issue of privacy, one that is close to my heart.
The thesis of this week’s series seems to be summarized in two passages in the first article:
When pollsters ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. An MSNBC.com survey, which will be covered in detail on Tuesday, found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another.
Only a tiny fraction of Americans - 7 percent, according to a recent survey by The Ponemon Institute - change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at toll booths to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements.
And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Carnegie Mellon privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a measly 50-cents-off coupon.
But woe to the organization that loses a laptop computer containing personal information.
…and:
The simple act of surrendering a telephone number to a store clerk may seem innocuous - so much so that many consumers do it with no questions asked. Yet that one action can set in motion a cascade of silent events, as that data point is acquired, analyzed, categorized, stored and sold over and over again. Future attacks on your privacy may come from anywhere, from anyone with money to purchase that phone number you surrendered.
If you doubt the multiplier effect, consider your e-mail inbox. If it’s loaded with spam, it’s undoubtedly because at some point in time you unknowingly surrendered your e-mail to the wrong Web site.
With the last statement, I think they might be discounting tactcs like dictionary attacks…but the point is still mostly valid.
I must say that I’m looking forward to the third article in the series, the comparison of U.S. and E.U. privacy laws.
Privacy is an issue I’ve been thinking about more recently. Awhile back I shared my desire for a privacy rights amendment to the Constitution. However, recently with the fuss being reignited over voter identification, RealID, and the like, I’ve been pondering whether it’s time to cave and accept a National ID, and what protections could be put in place to make the idea less offensive.
Maybe the MSNBC series will add a little more fuel to my thoughts.